MORAGA, Calif. — Patty Mills had 23 points and 10 assists while outdueling Stephen Curry in a matchup of two elite guards, leading Saint Mary’s into the NIT quarterfinals with an 80-68 victory over Davidson on Monday night.
Curry had 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists in what might have been the national scoring leader’s final game for the Wildcats (27-8), but Mills overcame his awful 3-point shooting with effective passing and just enough of his usual daredevil drives to the hoop, preventing Davidson from rallying late.
Omar Samhan added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Gaels (28-6), who will play Wednesday night at San Diego State, with the winner getting a trip to Madison Square Garden next week for the NIT semifinals.
The NIT rarely gets more intriguing matchups than this showdown between Mills and Curry, two high-scoring point guards who felt their teams were unfairly denied NCAA tournament berths. Neither guard disappointed, but Mills was a bit sharper overall — and he finished the night with both hands in the air, urging his raucous fans to storm the court for a postgame celebration.
Mills, the Australian Olympic star, scored 17 points in the first half of what probably was his final game at McKeon Pavilion, where fans chant “Aussie Aussie Aussie!” after his baskets. He struggled with 1-of-10 3-point shooting, a common theme since his return from a broken hand two weeks ago.
Curry, last season’s NCAA hero during Davidson’s run to the regional final, couldn’t quite spur a second-half comeback late in the Wildcats’ cross-country trip, missing 11 of his final 17 shots in an 11-of-27 performance that included four 3-pointers.
Diamon Simpson had 12 points and 15 rebounds for Saint Mary’s, which took charge with a 14-5 run early in the second half largely made on baskets by Mills’ teammates. The Gaels maintained the lead with Mills’ scoring — and the occasional incredible pass, such as his 45-foot lob to Wayne Hunter for a layup while getting fouled with 4:43 to play.
Thanks to the NIT’s clever scheduling, Curry and Mills got a memorable head-to-head matchup before both likely head on to lucrative NBA careers — although both wished their seasons would have ended in the bigger tournament.
Saint Mary’s lost to powerhouse Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament title game despite Mills’ return from a broken hand, while Davidson was upset by College of Charleston in the Southern Conference tournament semis after winning the regular-season league title.
The NCAA tournament selection committee turned away both small schools with their sterling basketball pedigrees and exciting stars while rewarding power-conference mainstays such as Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin, who all won their first-round games.
Saint Mary’s got to the NIT’s second round with a tough home win over Washington State, while Davidson won at South Carolina.
The Gaels’ cacophonous bandbox of a gym high in the Oakland hills was packed to the rafters 30 minutes before tipoff. Fans stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the concrete walkway behind the last row of seats, craning their necks for a partial view of warmups — during which Curry tripped over his pants and crashed to the floor on a layup attempt, getting up with a sheepish grin.
Mills missed his first three shots, but quickly warmed up after improbably banking home a high-arching layup over Andrew Lovedale for his first bucket. He scored nine points in the next 4½ minutes, and he even got down to mop the sweat off the floor with a towel after a fall.
Mills and Curry began occasionally guarding each other during the first half, although neither was isolated on the other for very long. Curry left the game twice to rest and finished the first half on a 2-for-7 shooting skid, but hit a 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the second half.
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